Kasimir
-
Posts
8611 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
40
Content Type
Profiles
News
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Events
Everything posted by Kasimir
-
Timecheck: I would've done this anyway even without the number of panicked PMs trickling in, but relax, people! The cycle has reached the halfway-mark, and 24 hours remain in the cycle.
-
Okay, announcement time! I have just gotten back from work plus a visit to my GP for stitches. Y'all are lucky I'm right-handed! I have dealt with the batch of actions and rule clarifications. If you haven't gotten a reply, ping me again because I'll have missed you. Otherwise, I am getting that painkiller and a cuppa. I have one main thing that needs to be dealt with separately: I have been asked a few times about the Discovery Faction, so I want to lay it out for once and for all. I can neither confirm nor deny if the Discovery Faction exists. The Discovery Faction comprises nothing but Blasphemous Scholars. Only Scholars have the ability to infiltrate Faction docs. If there were members of the Discovery Faction that weren't Scholars, they wouldn't be in the docs of other Factions. And if they weren't in the docs of other Factions, then A. I would never have allowed y'all to share Faction lists like that as you would've immediately revealed their identities by doing so, and B. your sharing Faction lists would've outed them. Unless, of course, one of the List-sharers is lying But to settle the issue for once and for all: they are all Blasphemous Scholars, they are not secret Teullu Warriors, they do not have Rememberers or Arbiters, they do not have a secret Weapon of Doom, they do not have a kill ability, and by the Eighty Suns, they are not Eliminators. I'd put that in size 20 font if I could This is a Faction game. That is all.* *This isn't a suspiciously specific denial, by the way. I should note I do not believe in pulling hidden-surprise rules on players like this. When I say there is no Weapon of Doom, I mean it. Otherwise, the rule clarifications have been edited--they're the second post of the cycle, and you can check there for any queries and for the latest update on the answers to the #stuffplayersask. In particular, I would like to flag that I have just clarified important things about the Arbiter, the Resealer, and the Bloodsealer, so I would recommend that players take a look at it. Thanks!
-
Gott sei Dank. Your move, Cursor.
-
I'm either really bad at describing things, or really bad at picking stuff people'd have heard about. A few more hints: the people who want to drink the protagonist's blood include his former teacher, a sorcerer. The crowd in his head are entities of magic known as the 'electric angels.'
-
It's a book: it's urban fantasy, and part of a trilogy.
-
No. They are not 'actual' roles. I've addressed this in the clarificatory questions compilation post above. Edit: The issue of the bribe mechanic has turned a bit ugly on one of the docs. I've posted a clarification in the doc, and at their request, will copy it to the thread. "Sigh. I suspected this would come up because the issue turned a bit ugly in this doc. I can’t really force anyone as a GM. I can set guidelines for how the win cons work, but ultimately, the stupidest thing to do is to make players do what they don’t want to do. As you can see from [REDACTED]’s attempt at sophistry. So, what are my guidelines to converts/bribees? 1. Treat it as though you were playing a regular conversion SE game and someone converted you into the Eliminators. Do you have to tell them everything? No, not necessarily. 2. I would prefer an attempt to keep to the spirit of the rules. Yes, there are reasons that you might want to withhold information. I would prefer to leave it to the player’s discretion because it’s just stupid to require all converts to immediately tell their new Factions everything they know. But I would temper that with the caution that you shouldn’t be looking for an excuse to be as uncooperative as possible, and that ideally, you should regard it as how you would be playing if you’d been with that Faction from Day 1. If you wouldn’t reveal your role then, don’t do it now. If you wouldn’t have been forthcoming then, don’t do it now."
-
Here are some links to the clarificatory questions asked and already answered: 1. Updated Rules Post with FAQs 2. Clarificatory Questions 3. Cycle One: Batch One 4. Cycle One: Batch Two 5. Cycle One: Batch Three 6. Cycle One: Batch Four 7. Cycle One: Batch Five Cycle Two Clarifications: -What happens if two Arbiters try to votejack the same person? I'm going to invoke the Principle of Buridan's chull here. If the same person has been votejacked, they become so tugged in both directions that they do not vote due to indecision. -I am going to have to reverse a prior ruling due to worries of balance and turtling, and I apologise for doing so as I do not like to do this: Resealers can protect the same target two cycles in a row, and they protect from all kills except the lynch. -Can the Rememberer Forge the roles of Emperor or Arbiter (Reform)? No. Alas, those were just for flavour and are not actually in the pool of roles available. -Can I have a secret conversation with another Faction member on a doc by deleting content from the doc when no one is looking? Yeah, sure, be my guest. Just be aware that these can be tracked by looking at Doc revisions, and as you're signed into the doc, your identity is reflected there. I am only going to put one limitation: please do not remove GM content from the doc. Thank you. -Can Arbiters target anyone's vote? Yes. They can target any player. The only limitation is that they can only target one player for each of their vote-switching abilities. -Can I monkey with the GM text in-doc and make it really tiny or make it white or something? No. GM text is off-limits. If you want me to remove something, ask me, but I can't guarantee I can remove it, as clarifications need to remain public. -Can an Arbiter change a vote to a no-vote? Yes. -Must the Arbiter target the same player for both the transfer vote change and the lynch vote change? Similarly, must the Arbiter make the player whose votes they are changing target the same person? No, and no. I think the easiest way to address this question is like this: think of the Arbiter's ability as being that of your standard vote manipulation role (so, like a Reverser in LG5. Being an Arbiter is like having two different Reversers, one for the Bribe vote, and one for the Lynch vote. You can use either Reverser, or both, you can target anyone with them, and you can change votes to no-votes. -If a Bloodsealer targets Dead Player X to use as a Skeletal for their kill, can the Rememberer still salvage that player's role? I'm going to go with the initial intention with which I created that ability. It was not meant to be a hard limit on the kill or a reflection of the Lifeless in LG4. Using a dead player was more or less just a flavour thing, and I intended it to be reflected in either one of the write-ups, or where that was not possible, in the death PM the target in question would've received. Tldr; yes. The Bloodsealer kill does not interfere with the Rememberer's ability. -If Siblings vote to bribe each other, is that vote nullified? No. Only the lynch vote is. -Can a Bloodsealer Ward and kill the person they've Warded in the same cycle? Yes. There is no upper limit to the number of actions that can be taken. -Must there be a dead player for the Bloodsealer to be able to use their Skeletal kill? (i.e. Can they kill during Cycle Two?) No. The Bloodsealer can, in theory, kill whoever they've Warded on Cycle One, or whoever they've Warded this cycle, at this point in time. -What happens if multiple Bloodsealers try to use the bones of the same dead player? The GM despairs and there is lulz. Nothing that affects gameplay happens. -If we roleblock a Scholar, do they get booted from a doc? Does this remove their extra life? No. Passive abilities cannot be role-blocked. What I would rule to be passive abilities typically include extra lives--whether those of the Scholars or of the Teullu(s). In addition, it may be relevant to the interests of some to note that the Sibling PM ability and the dying Diplomat PM are considered to be a 'passive' abilities for the purposes of this game. Similarly, the delayed death of a Diplomat is a passive ability. -Say a Diplomat gets hit and is informed they will die the next cycle. Can a Resealer save a Diplomat from their impending death if they protect a Diplomat on the next cycle? No. The Diplomat is considered 'dead'--they're just taking their time about it. A Resealer can protect from kills, but cannot protect from the inevitable. -Can a player have more than one role? No. -Which roles can protect from the lynch? The Teullu Warrior and the Forger's protection ability.
-
MR7: Cycle Two - The Assassin of Emperors It was sometime after midnight when Kwai left his room in the Phoenix Wing of the Rose Palace, treading quietly down passageways he’d long familiarised himself with during the day. Where he ran into patrolling Strikers, he nodded to them; they returned the greeting. They knew him now, as the famous painter and poet hired by Kaleva to produce works of art worthy of the Emperor himself. He was stopped at the entrance to the Imperial Wing. Two Strikers guarded that entrance; he knew of one of them by reputation. Zu, he recalled—a promising young man destined to rise swiftly through the ranks, according to palace gossip. He flashed the piece of paper bearing Kaleva’s seal. They waved him through. The Imperial Wing was increasingly opulent; the many paintings on the walls were typical of the more recent works of art: splashes and daubs of paint. What they were to represent was not immediately evident. He paused before a painting in many, many shades of red; splashed in thick, heavy brush-strokes, with subtle threads of light scarlet woven throughout. The calligraphed characters on the scroll that hung beside it informed the viewer that the great artist Taran had titled it ‘Sunset Over The Mountains.’ Kwai shook his head, and carried on. Art, he thought, required subtlety. A true artist didn’t just work with the senses—he had to touch the soul. The door to the Emperor’s quarters was ajar. He pushed against it, and stepped in. Yazad, his face grey and drawn, glanced up at him. “Kwai…?” he asked, in a thin, reedy voice. “He said it would be you. He told me you would come.” “Your Majesty,” Kwai said, performing the required obeisance in the doorway. He stepped on into the room. This was the man he’d painted for, written poetry for, Kwai thought. At the end of all things; a tired man, not particularly old, worn down by disease to a thin shadow swathed in thick cotton sheets. The Resealers had discreetly withdrawn, by now. Perhaps that, too, had been arranged. There was only so much they could do for the disease eating away at Yazad, no matter how many times they remade his flesh. He stepped forward. Took one step, and then another, and then he was at the Emperor’s side. Too many things to say, Kwai thought. So he said none of them. With a flick, the dagger came out of its wrist-sheath. “I’ve come to set you free.” In a smooth motion, he drove the dagger to the hilt in the man’s heart. There was no reply. There would never be one. He carefully closed the staring eyes, ordered the Emperor’s limbs, folded arms over the cotton sheets to give the old man as much dignity as he could. There was a poem, he thought, that the Emperor had him recite often; about parting with old friends on the mountains. For every reason now, it was running through his head, mingling with the tale of the archer who shot the suns out of the sky. For that was what he had done, had he not? He cleaned the blade in the golden washbasin on the nightstand, watching as the blood ran and swirled in obscure patterns in the water. And then he sheathed the dagger, and left, closing the door quietly behind him. Kaleva was drinking alone, when Kwai entered his room. The moonlight shone silver through the open window. The Arbiter glanced calmly at him. “Have a seat,” Kaleva said. “Tea?” There was a second cup on the table; celadon, Kwai noted, and nothing like the rough clay at the Frozen Moon. He hesitated, and then nodded and took the proferred seat. “Rest assured,” Kaleva said, “I’m not intending to poison you.” His smile was, Kwai thought, annoyingly knowing. “It’s good tea. You should try it. I received it the first year Yazad came to power: ruinously expensive, of course. I don’t make a habit of accepting bribes.” “You’re drinking it now,” Kwai pointed out. “So I am. A shame to waste good tea, don’t you think?” Kwai picked up the cup, admired the delicate teal glaze and the impression of seabirds on the rim. And then he sipped from it. “I told you,” Kaleva said, without even a touch of smugness. “The best. Red Robe tea is reserved for the use of the Emperor alone…and certain people with connections.” “But not you.” Kaleva said, setting his own cup down, soberly, “I do not abuse power, Shi KwaiRan. You may want to remember that.” In the silent wake of that sharp rebuke, he added, “So, who was it, then? No, let me guess. Gamman put you up to it.” He named one of his fellow arbiters from the Reform Faction. Kwai nodded. “He did. Are you going to ask why?” Kaleva snorted. “I’m sure I already know the answer,” he said, dismissively. “I’m only surprised it took him this long to arrange something.” He shook his head. “I was not lying, that night in the Frozen Moon. My influence is waning and has been for a very long time, no matter what they say. I’d hoped that together with Yazad, we could’ve pushed through the reforms the Empire so badly needs, but Yazad had always a history of weak health…” his voice trailed off. “And of course, every arbiter is happy to speak of reforms, until they have to give up something for it.” It was, Kwai thought, a surprisingly bitter statement; uncharacteristic of Kaleva. “They’re gathering, of course,” Kaleva said, matter-of-factly. “The other factions, like crows. They would’ve gathered anyway—too many people talk, in the Rose Palace. It was only a matter of time.” “But why the Frozen Moon?” Kaleva smiled. “You didn’t guess?” At Kwai’s shake of his head, he said, “It’s one thing to hear it from spies. Another to hear me admit it so openly. Perhaps a fool’s move, when anyone can see the dance is almost over. But it unbalanced them. Of course, I’m sure that also panicked Gamman into moving so soon.” He glanced critically at Kwai. “Otherwise, he might’ve been content to let Yazad die of his disease.” “He would’ve called for your death in any event,” Kwai replied, acknowledging the point. Kaleva said, “I know.” He sighed, gesturing to the room around him; at the calligraphed scrolls, at the bookshelves, the opulent desk with the gold-scrawled dragon, the celadon tea-set, the many tiny odds and ends that made up the detritus of the man’s life. “Look at this. I’ve accumulated enough after decades of fighting with the other factions and the arbiters, trying to push in the needed reforms…I think it’s about time I stepped down, one way or another. Don’t you?” Kwai said, “You could’ve run.” “Don’t be ridiculous,” Kaleva said. “Where would I go? The Empire has been my life, Kwai. I don’t deny that I’ve done terrible, terrible things in the name of power. But Imperial politics is not a game, and anyone who enters the dance without some steel in him will have to be prepared to give it up. I have given the Empire—and my faction—my youth. Why should I stint on giving up my life?” “Gamman is not a good man.” “And I am?” Kaleva shook his head. “I thank you, Kwai. But I have enough self-respect, I think, to know better. Come,” he said, “Drink with me. Wasn’t it a poet of your people who wrote that one of the most precious things was drinking with a friend at a parting?” “Shao KaiJun was a philosopher and a poet,” Kwai replied, but he drank the tea, savouring its rich fragrance. “And I believe he wrote of drinking wine with a friend.” Kaleva laughed; amused. “I’m afraid I don’t have wine,” he remarked. “So tea will have to do.” They sat, drinking tea, in a companionable silence as the last of the night waned and the sky beyond flushed with the first hint of dawn. Eventually, Kaleva nodded. Kwai slipped the dagger free from its sheath. He made it quick and painless. It was, he thought, all someone could do, in times like this. He cleaned the blade on a piece of cloth, sheathed it, and then catiously slipped out of Kaleva’s quarters, as the new sun rose, engulfing the land in its brilliance and glory. Left on the table were two empty celadon cups; drained to the dregs, now emptied. Yazad was the Emperor of the Eighty Suns belonging to the Reform Faction! Kaleva was an Arbiter belonging to the Reform Faction! The Emperor is dead! Cycle Two (and the succession war) begins now, and will last for 48 hours, ending on Friday, 3rd July, at 11PM SGT [=GMT +8]. Player List
-
The cycle has now ended. The write-up and PMs will be coming shortly.
-
Time-check: We are now slightly over four hours to the end of the cycle. Please remember to get your actions in, where applicable, and to not get overly-attached to your Faction members...
-
Think of each bribe as a mini-lynch. Each Faction discusses among themselves and picks one candidate to remove from the other Factions. They then approach their own arbiters (who hold the purse strings) [This is just flavour; the Arbiter themselves does not have control over this] who will see to it that Faction funds go into bribing over that chosen person. It means that the Discovery Faction members will not have their own unique 'mini-lynch'. But as they are infiltrating the other Factions, they may still make bribe votes as members of the Factions they are infiltrating, since the money isn't coming from their pockets, and the arbiters have no way of knowing their true allegiances. And yes, the corollary is that a Discovery Faction member expelled from a doc may still make a lynch vote but can no longer make a bribe vote. Just under ten hours now. And no; only the first cycle will be 24 hours, as it's more or less time to get used to your Factions before you say goodbye to all the people you met before the bloodbath. After Cycle One, all cycles will be 48 hours. Edit: Two more rule clarifications. 1. I have been asked if electing to sabotage your new Faction is against Fair Play. Theoretically, that is not a ruling I am qualified to make, and I believe that would require a ruling from Gamma. I will say for my part that while I can't technically stop players from doing so (see: Gamma's betrayal in LG4), I would consider this to be going against the spirit of the rules, if not their word. The Bribe Mechanic changes both your allegiance and your win con. I am not against actively electing to sabotage yourself as insurance for a future transfer. I am against doing so once both your allegiance and win con have changed, and would regard doing so as being equivalent to a Villager choosing to actively play on the Eliminator team, or a Convert sabotaging their new Team and playing for Team Village. Last, I would just remind all players that it would probably be better if you don't annoy the other players too much, and to just remember that doing so would probably tick off a few people Myself, I will just sigh and deal. 2. What happens if Bloodsealer A Wards Gamma and Bloodsealer B Wards Bloodsealer A? This is a tricky question. According to the Stack, both actions have the same priority. So, this is how it works. Bloodsealer A: Their action of Warding Gamma goes through. Their Bribe votes and Lynch votes do not. Gamma: Both Gamma's action and votes are nullified. 3. What happens if a Faction is destroyed? Will this be announced? No. The destruction of a Faction will not be announced. 4. Can Siblings have a second role? No. They cannot.
-
As previously clarified, a Jindoeese Diplomat scanning within their Faction will receive exactly the same results as the Svordish Diplomat scanning within their Faction. Neither would be able to identify the Scholar. A Scholar can only be identified correctly by a Jindoeese Diplomat from a different Faction.
-
I interrupt your discussion with another Diplomat question Say Kas is a Svordish Diplomat with the Heritage Faction. He scans Gamma and discovers Gamma is a member of the Glory Faction. Now, Gamma has been transferred to the Heritage Faction. Kas scans Gamma again. What is the result? My ruling is that the rule about seeing members of your own Faction as coming from your Faction has primacy. The rule about receiving a consistent result only comes into effect when the case in question is one on which randomisation would otherwise be invoked. In this case, Kas would receive the result that Gamma is a member of the Heritage Faction, as randomisation does not occur for members of the same Faction. Otherwise, if Gamma were not to be transferred and Kas had scanned him again, then he would once again receive the result that Gamma is a member of the Glory Faction, consistent with the results of the first randomisation. Edit: And a question about the Resealer: -Can the Resealer protect from the lynch? Yes. Yes they can.
-
Two more clarifications: 1. Please be reminded to send in orders as replies to the role PM. I'm dealing with 27-odd PMs, I really don't need extra PMs floating in, so I'd appreciate your cooperation in enabling timely responses while juggling these If you could demarcate orders by cycle, that'd be even more helpful and I'd greatly appreciate that. So, something like this: Kas - Cycle One - Orders 1. Block Gamma 2. Bribe Ren Thanks! 2. I've been asked about how the Diplomats work. Let me explain it more clearly: Kas does not know if he is a Jindoeese or Svordish Diplomat. He is a member of the Heritage Faction. If Kas is a Jindoeese Diplomat: A. Scanning a member of the Heritage Faction yields the result <Heritage Faction>. B. Scanning a member of another Faction yields the correct result: Discovery, Moderation, or Glory. If Kas is a Svordish Diplomat: A. Scanning a member of the Heritage Faction yields the result <Heritage Faction>. B. Scanning a member of another Faction yields a result randomised between: Discovery, Moderation, and Glory. I hope this clears things up! Edit: Third question on the Diplomats. -If the Svordish Diplomat scans the same person a second time, what do they see? Is the result re-randomised? No. The first scan is randomised, but the second scan will simply repeat the result of the first. Treat it like this: the Svordish Diplomat's paperwork may lead them down the wrong trail, but as their paperwork (body of evidence) remains consistent, so does the conclusion they draw from it. Edit 2: Even more clarifications: -Can the Discovery Faction bribe people into their Faction? Alas, the Discovery Faction is broke. They cannot bribe people, as a Faction.
-
This is a reminder to all players: Cycle One is a no kill cycle. Neither the lynch nor kill actions will successfully proceed. In addition, here are some issues I've had to clarify: -Are lynch votes publicised in the write-up? As I've made clear in the rules post, neither lynch votes nor transfer votes will be publicised. -Can a Bloodsealer use their role-block this cycle? Yes. Any action that is not a kill action may be taken. -Can a Faction win if they are the sole survivors but the Discovery Faction infiltrators still exist? The win condition is total annihilation. Neither can win while the other survives. -Can a Bloodsealer use their Skeletal Kill on a player Warded by another Bloodsealer? No. -What happens if a Bloodsealer attacks a player protected by the Teullu Warrior? The Bloodsealer dies. -Can the Discovery Faction bribe players? No. They are bankrupt. -Can one of the Siblings start on the Discovery Faction? How do they win then? A Sibling cannot start on the Discovery Faction. (I considered being more ambiguous about this, but there is no reason to be.) -Can a Rememberer take on the role of a dead Arbiter? Yes. This was in the FAQs. -Can we use the Bribe mechanic on a member of our own Faction? No. This was in the FAQs. -Can a Resealer target themselves? What about twice in a row? Yes, and yes. -Are all the Discovery Faction members in two docs? Sigh. This game is a reboot of MR1. The Discovery Faction members are all infiltrating other docs. They are all Blasphemous Scholars. I will make a quick note here: I will prioritise questions that have not already been answered in the FAQs. This is in order to get to the more pressing issues that require my attention. In other words, please check the FAQs first This makes things easier for both of us.
-
MR7: Cycle One - The Last Painting Eighty suns rose and set over the Rose Empire, changing with the passage of the days. The dawn of a new day brought with it a different sun in the heavens, or so the citizens believed. Kwai knelt in the light of the new sun, tugged his shirt sleeve firmly down over his arm, and began the finishing touches to the bottom of the painting. Light, that was important, Kwai thought. A good painter knew how to take that light—that rich, golden light spilling in through the silk-screened window like honey, and to subtly employ it in his paintings, emphasising objects, bringing a distant pavilion on a mist-shrouded mountain into sharper focus. He drew on that memory of dawnlight now, worked it into the various panels. Here, a heron, wading in the rushes of the River Naidian. Here, the towering mountains and pine forests of Mount Taigu. In the centre of all things was, of course, the splendour of the Rose Palace; that went without saying. The Emperor of the Eighty Suns anchored the painting, for all that Kwai had only a mere outline. He hadn’t yet begun work on the man’s features, much less decided how he would be depicted. He was touching up the edges of the lone pavilion when he heard a soft cough. Kwai turned about, paintbrush still in hand, and offered obeisance to the man who had stepped into the room, leaning on a bamboo stick. Now that they were no longer bothering to hide it, Kwai noticed the unhealthy pallour of Yazad’s face; the way the deferential Striker trailed him, as if to guard him—or to steady him, if he stumbled. He was, as well, far too thin: a trembling sketch of a man in the golden brocade coat of Emperor, stitched with the flaring sun Imperial symbol. “Shi KwaiRan,” Yazad said, in greeting. He coughed again, leaning heavily on the cane; the white handkerchief that came out of his pocket to cover his lips came back flecked with blood. “I see you are hard at work, as usual.” “That I am, your Majesty,” Kwai replied. The Striker helped the Emperor into a chair of polished wood. The entire study had been done up in neutral, earthen tones, Kwai thought. The wooden furnishings were no difference; they intended to speak of privacy and comfort, rather than imperial grandeur. Yazad’s pale eyes flicked over the length and breadth of the mural painting, and then turned back to Kwai. “Eat with me,” he said. “And talk to me, for a time.” A sharp gesture and the Striker retreated to a safe distance; presumably, to summon one of the servants. “As your Majesty wishes,” Kwai said. He collected his brushes, cleaned them off, and began to allow the rest of the freshly-applied paint to dry. “No comment, painter?” Yazad said, “I’d almost expected to hear something about my current state of health. Frava greeted me just last night, informing me that I looked a lot more well-rested than I previously had. Pity that they’re all already starting to plan who will succeed the throne after my death. Kaleva’s kept me entertained with tales of their latest plots and schemes.” Kwai said, “I don’t flatter, your Majesty. You know that.” Yazad gazed pointedly at the mural taking shape on the panelling of the study. “I disagree,” he said, simply. “You are a painter. Your entire task is to create works that flatter the deeds and egos of great men.” A person less familiar with the Emperor’s mannerisms, Kwai thought, might’ve missed the self-deprecatory twist to the man’s lips as he spoke. “Unfortunately,” Kwai said, “I am, first and foremost, an artist.” “I fail to see the difference,” Yazad said, at last. Kwai approached the lacquered wooden desk—cleared of the papers that had once cluttered it, back when Yazad had been in good health—and sat down on the proferred chair. “I believe,” he said, “Or I would like to believe that my profession requires a healthy respect for the truth.” “But phoenixes,” Yazad said. “You consider them to be truthful subjects of art, then?” Kwai shook his head. “Apologies, your Majesty. Truth is…” he struggled for the words. “The relationship between the artist and truth is complicated, at best. Do you know of Xu DuLin’s poem about the cypresses of Sogdian Forest?” Yazad nodded. “I have often read his Book of Songs to myself,” he said. “When craving some form of respite.” “Perhaps there was an old cypress, somewhere in the depths of Sogdian Forest,” Kwai said. “By the bank of the River Dian. Or perhaps there was none at all; perhaps those who sit themselves by the foot of a cypress in Sogdian must content themselves with the supposition that this tree, this is the tree that DuLin wrote his famous ‘By the River on a Lonely Night’ about.” He shrugged, apologetically. “Perhaps DuLin was really writing about the lone cypress that grew by the riverbank in his home province of Ukurgi.” “We do not know, then,” Yazad said. “And we never will. DuLin was an excellent poet, if a little pastoral in his writings.” “Exactly so, your Majesty,” Kwai agreed. “Truth is the first and last refuge of the artist. But more than anything else, an artist creates truth; distills it, drop by precious drop and then refines it. Now, an old cypress stands where none did before by the River Dian, touched by the first light. And so it is with the humblest painting.” Yazad made a noncommittal sound in response to that. He was glancing searchingly, once more, at the expansive mural taking shape before his eyes. “How long will you take, do you think?” he asked. Kwai followed the direction of his gaze. “At least three more months, your Majesty,” he replied. “Perhaps two more, at best.” “The Resealers inform me I will be fortunate to have one more month to live,” Yazad said, bluntly. “Your Majesty,” Kwai acknowledged. “I am sorry.” Yazad dismissed it with a gesture from his trembling hand. “No matter,” he said. “I’ve long come to accept that few are…fortunate enough to have access to the best Resealers the Empire has to offer. If I weren’t an Emperor, I’d have been dead three months ago.” Kwai said nothing. He wasn’t sure he was meant to. “Yes,” Yazad said, almost to himself. “Perhaps it is better this way…time things reached an ending.” His shoulders shook as he coughed again; uncontrollably. When he drew them away from his lips, his fingers were wet with blood. He looked at Kwai. “It…gives me cause for sorrow, to know I may not see the final painting. To know what you will make of me. Much less what sort of legacy I will leave behind.” He smiled, carefully; it was filmed over with pain. Not, Kwai thought, entirely physical, at that. “In truth, perhaps it is a good thing. Too much honesty, painter, can break a man.” Kwai looked at the Emperor. For the first time, touched by that dawn light, he thought he saw: more clearly, and more deeply into the heart of the man than he had, back when Yazad had first sat for a portrait in this very same study. We only truly realise what precious things we behold when they are about to shatter, he found himself thinking. Aloud, he said, “Your Majesty, I assure you that the painting will not displease.” Yazad shook his head in admonishment. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Kwai.” His shrug was resigned. “If it is to be an artist painting my mural, then be an artist. Be truthful. The truth, I think, is a commodity I’ve only…recently come to value.” He sighed. “I understand, your Majesty.” Cycle One begins now, and will last for 24 hours, ending at 11PM SGT [=GMT+8] tomorrow. Please be reminded that no kills will go through on cycle one, and be sure to check the updated rules post! Player List:
-
Sign-ups are now closed and PMs will be sent out shortly. People who cannot access your docs, please inform me in the role PM, not in-thread. Also, please note that I've made a slight mistake with the Order of Actions/Stack and forgotten to include the Diplomat Scan as an action, which takes place last. This issue has been rectified and the rules post correctly updated. Thank you. Please enjoy some soothing music to make the wait more bearable.
-
...I have major anxiety issues, or so I've been told by many people :/ It doesn't help that I overplan for many things. But let's see: -Heights. When I was a child, I used to be so afraid of escalators I could never go on them. We're talking about this in a country full of high-rises due to land scarcity. I couldn't even climb those stairs with gaps in them from the second floor down to the first. I got a lot better with time, and now I just stay away from balconies but can function with heights. -Social anxiety. I'm really bad at dealing with people, and nothing breaks out the social anxiety more than having to meet people. I even go to pieces when I have to meet my profs in a personal capacity, and those are the people I work a lot with, professionally. So. -Failure. Yeah, I'm terrified of failure too. I think Wyrm can attest to that But it extends to my obsessive attitude towards getting As in classes, everything, really. It's not just failure itself: I don't like to let people down.
-
Leider spreche ich kein Deutsch und allerdings war es nur zum Spaß. Deswegen sollten alle Spieler/Innen mir die Befehle bitte auf Englisch schicken Damit können wir zusammen irgendwas problematisches (bzw. "Kommunikationsprobleme") vermeiden. Alles klar? To players negatively affected by this starting time (particularly the Aussies and Kiwis!), I apologise Ultimately, as a GM, I have to be a moderately self-interested altruistic hedonist. So, I'm trying to generally minimise the impact for the large pool of Stateside players, given the clash of timezones. This is pretty much the best I can do, alas.
-
A Striker Captain cannot protect at all. They can only make a kill. Now, the question you might have had in mind is: what happens if a Striker Captain targets a player protected by the Teullu Warrior? (Doesn't matter whether the kill is with their kill ability or kill-with-me ability.) If that is the case, then the Striker Captain dies, as long as the Teullu hasn't already used up their protection ability. If it is the Striker Captain's 'kill-with-me' ability in use, then the Teullu kill just double-taps the Striker Captain, effectively wasting their protection ability. - At this point in time, it is 24 hours from when the game is scheduled to begin. So, this is a general announcement: thank you to all who have signed up so far! As of this point in time, with 27 players, barring any sudden mass withdrawals, this game will be a 4-faction game and I have accordingly edited the rules post to reflect this. Similarly, the impartial mod for this game will be Gamma. I have also edited the rules post to reflect this. Due to my need to create some buffer-time for myself, and to be a little more friendly to the Stateside players, cycles will now begin (and end) at 11PM SGT [=GMT+8]. Once again, this is a last reminder to those who have not yet PMed me the emails they will be using to play this game. Please do so ASAP, in order to facilitate a smooth start to the game tomorrow. Thank you! To any people still vacillating about whether to join, I should note that I intend to close sign-ups anywhere between half-an-hour to an hour before the game is scheduled to begin (i.e. between 10-10.30PM.) This is to ensure that everything gets done in good time (without last minute changes) und alles in Ordnung ist. Thank you.
-
I feel obliged to chime in at that comment to say that if she'd be anything like the stereotype (or the unfortunate reality...), she'd be giving him grief about not being married and not having grandchildren and shaming his ancestors all the time. (Until she finds out about Susan, if at all, I suppose.) Suddenly, I want this. It would be so hilarious
-
I'm not very good at this either, so no worries Alas, it is not. It is a book by a different author So: Hint #1: It is not by Brandon Sanderson. Hint #2: It is set in contemporary London.
-
Whoa there. If that helps, I was only joking! I didn't think that'd actually be the answer! Man comes back from the dead only to discover there's a crowd in his head, and people want to drink his blood.
-
Was I that unworthy, Lover?
-
Every game of Sanderson Elimination ever played?
